Faucet.



Patented Nov. I2, |90I. J. A.. WIGHT.

FA U C ET.

( Applicatonled Feb. 6, 1901.)

(No Model.)

T: Norms News co, PHO-munie., WASHINGTON4 nA c.

other purposes.

UNITEDv STATES PATENT OFFCI.'

JOHN A. WIGIIT, kOF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FAUCET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 686,566, datedNovember 12, 1901.

Application tiled February 6, 190].. Serial No. 461207- (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. WIGHT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ot' Illinois, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Faucets, of which the followingis a speci# like mechanism easily affected by the action of the water tocontrol the operation of the valve should Vbe avoided and the positiveoperation of the latter made to depend upon the water-pressure alone;thirdly, a perfect seating of the Valve should be provided for, withmeans for compensating for any wear ofthe parts, to prevent leakage;fourthly, provision should also be made for overcoming the tendencycofthe valve to"hammer, and, finally,

the faucet should be made self-venting in order that the pipes may beemptied when the water is turned off to prevent freezing or for Theseand other advantages are all secured by me by the constructionhereinafter described.

In the drawings, Figure lis a sectional elevation of a tap or faucetembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail showing the constructionofthe base or induction piece of the casing.

A represents a valve-casing, B the valve stein, and C the operatinglever or handle therefor. The lever C is preferably eccentricallymounted, so as to act as a cam upon the upper extremity of thevalve-stem to depress the samewhen the handle is moved. The stem B ispreferably united near its upper end withV the upper portion of thecasing A by a flexible diaphragm, as shown, so forming a seal to preventthe leakage of water through the stem-opening in the top of the casing;butthese parts may be modified or varied as may be desirable.

The valve-casing A is provided at its lower end with a depending annularflan ge gt, screwthreaded on its upper portion for attachment to thebase or induction piece D. The lower portion of said annular flange c isleft plain and is provided with a series of ports or apertures a. forpurposes to be hereinafter de-n scribed.

The base or induction piece D consists of an upper enlarged portion Dland a threaded stem D2, adapted to be connected withfthe supply-pipe.The enlarged or chambered lportion of the induction-piece is internallyscrew-threaded near its upper end to engage the corresponding threads onthe iiange a of the casing, and in the lower portion of such piece is.formed an annular recess or channel d. The recess d is of such widththat the shoulder d' at the'top thereof is in the same horizontal planeas the top of the ports or orifices a' in the flange a. T he piece D isalso provided with an annular liange d2, surrounding the mouth of theinlet-opening in said piece, said flange being provided with slots ororifices d3, as best shown in Fig. 2.

The valve E comprises a circular body e of such size as to slide freelyWithin the iiange d of the casing and connected with the stem B by a pinor spindle b, fitting in a socket or recess in the stem and forming aloose joint therewith. The body of the valve is preferably hollow, asshown, and is preferably composed of two cup-shaped members e' and e2,united by soldering or other suitable means, so as to form a closedairtight chamber, as shown in Fig. 1.

From the center of the lower member e2 of the valve E projects a shortstem or lug carrying a spiral or helical plate E', formed integraltherewith or attached thereto, extending downward into t-he mouth of thepipe D2 and preferably of a width substantially corresponding with t-hediameter of the pipe. On its upper or bearing surface the valve memberis provided with a circular rib or proj ection erof inverted-V shape incross-section, so as to offer a sharp edge to the opposing seat. Theseat may be composed of any suitable material-as rubber, Babbitt metal,or the like-and consists of a ring F, of such material, seated in anoutwardly-contracted or dovetail-shaped groove in the Aunder face of thecasing-body.

The operation of the tap is as follows: The water system being in itsnormal condition, with the pipes full, the valve is held byv rea- IOOson of its buoyancy and the pressure of the water below in the closedposition shown in Fig. l. If now the handle or lever be depressed, thevalve is thereby pushed down until its under surface comes in contactwith the top of the iiange d2. The water flowing in through the orifices(Z3 in said fiange rushes beneath the valve-plate through the openings ain the iiange a and up through the channel d, where, encountering theshoulder d at the top of said channel, it is deflected downward andinward again and is forced in through the openings or orifices a. uponthe top of the valve, whence it flows up through the casing and thespigot. It will thus be seen that the inflowing water exerts a downwardforce upon the valve as well as an upward force, which serves to steadythe same and prevent hammering. At the same time the [lowing water actsupon the helix E', rotating the same and with it the valve, so that theperiphery of the valve-body e serves as a cleaner to prevent the depositof sedimentin the openings a', while the spiral plate itself keeps clearthe ingress-pipe and the iiange d2. Thus the valve is made practicallyself-cleaning. Another function which the spiral plays is to insure afirm and tight seating of the valve. 'Flins when the handle is releasedthe water, exerting its greatest force on the under side of the valve,moves the same upward to seat it', and the spiral, rotated by thepressure, grinds the sharp edge ofY the ring e3 firmly into the seat F.If also at any time wear should cause an unevenness of seating, whichallows the water to leak past, the movement of the water incidentthereto will twist the valve around until it comes to such position thatthe leak is stopped or until it wears a deeper and firmerseating-groove. It will thus be seen that the positive closing of thevalve is accomplished without the use of springs, diaphragms, or thelike, the entire closing action depending on the upward pressure of thewater, aided by the buoyancy of the air-filled valve-body. It isapparent, however, that a solid valve-plate might be employed withsuccess where the water-pressure is great; but the hollow valvestructure herein described is particularly advantageous where a lightwater-pressure exits, and a very rapid closing action is insuredthereby.

Another important result accomplished by my construction is the ventingof the pipes when it is desired to draw the water o to prevent freezingor for other purposes'. Thus if the supply be cut olf from the main andthe stop-cock on the lowest level available be opened the pressure isremoved from each faucet located above such level, andthe valve,actuated by gravity, falls to open position. This permits the ingress ofthe air into the pipes through the faucet, the air following theopposite course from that taken by the water when the faucet is inoperation and passing through the casing, the channel d, and theopenings (Z3 into the pipe.

Another advantage incident to my invention is the ease with which accessmay be had to the parts to repair or clean them. As will be seen, thesimple unscrewing of the casing A from the base-piece D exposes all ofthe working parts, and the Valve, being perfectly loose in its chamber,may then be lifted out, giving free access to the induction-pipe and thechannel d. The practical advantage of such simplicity of constructionand the absence of any parts liable to wear quickly or be affected bythe action of the water is apparent.

I do not wish to limit my invention to the exact construction shown, asslight changes and modifications to adapt the structure shown to theneeds of faucets of other types than that herein shown by way ofillustration may be made by those skilled in the art Without departingfrom the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s

l.. In a faucet, the combination with the casing having an inletopening,of a valve for closing said opening, and an induction-chambersurrounding the valve having a channel in its wall for directing theinfiowing water inward upon the top of the valve when the latter ismoved to open position, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a faucet-casing having a depending angc providedwith ports a', of an induction-piece provided with a channel formed witha shoulder at its top, said shoulder alining with the top of ports a',and a reciprocating valve arranged, when in open position, to lie withits upper face below the level of said shoulder, substantially as setforth.

3. In a faucet, the combination with the casing, of an induction-chambelhaving an ingress-opening andaiiange surrounding said opening,saidflange being provided with ports, of a reciprocating valve arrangedwithin said induction-chamber and arranged, when in open position torest upon said liange, substantially as set forth.

4. In a faucet, the combination with the casing, and valve-seat, of areciprocating valve comprising two cup-shaped members united to form aclosed, air-tight chamber, a valve-stem, and an operating-handletherefor, substantially as set forth.

5. In a faucet, the combination with the casing and valve-seat, of avalve comprising two cup-shaped members united to form an air-chamber, ahelix secured, to one of said members, a valve-stem loosely connected tothe other of said members, and an operatinghandle connected with saidstem, substantially as set forth.

JNO. A. WIGHT.

Witnesses:

J AMES J ENsEN, JOHN T. Ems.

IOO

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